


A Case of the Feelings

by kathrikat



Category: Kakos Industries (Podcast)
Genre: Drug Abuse, Drug Use, M/M, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:29:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22943323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kathrikat/pseuds/kathrikat
Summary: Three shorts relating to Corin Deeth III and Soundman Steven. Or, alternatively, Corin has a case of the feelings, and tries to overcome them (miserably).
Relationships: Corin Deeth III/Soundman Steven
Kudos: 7





	1. See No Evil

**Author's Note:**

> originally wrote this like three years ago, but I reread it and didn't like it so I tweaked it a bit and now im reposting. also I havent listend to the podcast since 2017 (really hated the belladonica arc ngl) so im currently relistening from the beginning despite my previous dislike for some of the writing. I'm a sucker for the characters what can I say?
> 
> ps. due to not being completely caught up on kakos, there might be some parts here that don't line up with canon. i dont care! do evil better friends :D

After the announcements that day, Soundman didn't expect Corin to visit him, let alone in the state he was in. Standing in front of him, Corin was soft, a little bit unbalanced in his actions. His iconic sunglasses hung just below the top of his eye line, and anyone with vision could see his eyes were bloodshot. If "bloodshot" meant the crimson in his eyes was replaced with a deep, dark purple. In fact, Soundman found himself rather worried at the amount of pupil that devoured those handsomely brown irises of his. Through those eyes, Soundman figured Corin could only see someone that would bend to his every need and command. Whether that command be to fill out paper work he didn't feel too keen on doing, or a quick hand job, it didn't stop him from listening to every word the CEO was going to spill out to him, however unfiltered that may be.

“Soundman,” Corin slurred and stumbled slightly, catching himself on the only chair in the room and using it to “casually” lean against, “do realize how much I value you as an employee? How much...” he trailed off and stood there thinking. And thinking. Soundman cracked a knuckle in anticipation, snapping Corin out of his transfixed state. “I _enjoy_ your presence?” Corin asked. The question came out much too loud, but Soundman became overwhelmingly aware of the feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him there was only the two of them. No cameras, no eavesdroppers. Just Soundman and his CEO. It didn't matter if he was being loud. He nodded at Corin's words. What else is one supposed to do but agree with their peers?

“God,” Corin half yelled, half awed at Soundman shaking an enthusiastic fist at the engineer. He stepped a little closer. Maybe a little too close for comfort. “I fucking _love_ how willing you are to agree with me. I _love_ that, _Steven_.” Even through the inebriation Corin was obviously going through Soundman felt his heart catch and his hard-on twitch at the first name basis. In some distant day dream he could hear Corin moaning it, desperate with want and _his_ name in _that_ mouth. A flushing face forced Steven to try to ground himself. This was no time for fantasies. His boss was right in front of him for fuck’s sake. This was as real as it was going to get.

“You know, I see your everlasting hard-on every day and you wanna _know_ something?” Corin elongated the second to last word, his proudly adorned smile coming through his voice. Steven swallowed as the CEO looked over him.

When Corin decided to step further toward him, he remained undisturbed. His boss was now so close Soundman could feel the warmth coming off his body like a high class heater. So close he could feel Corin's lower body pressing against his hard-on, giving him much needed friction. He silently wished he could stay in this moment forever. The intoxication of being so close to someone he admired so much prevented him from saying no. He nodded his head. He needed to know what the other was going to say next.

Corin inhaled ever so carefully, and leaned down next to Soundman’s ear. His breath was hot there, making Soundman swallow at the sensation.

“I. Fucking. Want. You. I mean, just look at you. ”

As if on cue, Soundman happened to catch a glimpse of himself in Corin’s sunglasses. He wasn’t too sure he shared the CEO's enthusiasm.

“And You know what I’m gonna do about that?” Corin asked, almost challenging his co-worker. Soundman raised his brows in anticipation for his answer. One of Corin’s hands came up towards his face, reaching out as if to gently take hold of it and Soundman tilted his head in instinct. But there was something else too. As fast as he had seen Corin's eyes dilate, he watched them retract, the fingers following suit. It was as though as revelation took place in the midst of all of Corin's thoughts, feelings, and actions. Corin became as tense as he could with no balance. His hand returned to his side. The warmth left Soundman's body.

He waited for Corin’s next move. He’d do anything he asked.

“Nothing,” Corin muttered. “Nothing at all.”

He stepped back until his palm was on the door handle, staring at the room and Steven like it was the last time he would see it. Like he was forgetting everything he saw. To Soundman, it looked like he didn’t know where he was or what he was doing. He couldn’t blame him. Whatever fucked up drug they had decided to try on his boss had clearly back fired. Corin turned the handle and stumbled his way out of the room. He left all potential lingering in the stuffy confines of the sound room.

To say Soundman was disappointed, was an understatement.

* * *

It had been a couple of days since that incident.

It was after hours and Soundman wasn’t in his sound room. Ever since Corin said those things, it was agonizing to be in there. That moment became the main thing clouding his vision every time he stayed in there longer than 5 minutes. The CEO had left the announcements today frustrated and, to what Soundman could gather, rather defeated. Dirk gave him nothing Evil enough, Brosephus couldn’t help find a solution to any of Corin’s personal life problems (which was also quite distressing to Brosephus, who considered himself a great problem solver), and Junior ended their DND campaign once again with a tragic tyranny and bedding every girl on the continent. Soundman could say he felt his boss’ pain and related to that entire situation on a very deep, emotional level, but truth be told, he didn’t. That entire pain was on a whole new level Soundman could never understand even if he tried. Truly a tragedy.

Perhaps there was something he could do to cheer up his peer? In all honesty, there weren’t many supreme talents attached to Soundman. He knew his way around with sound, and he did a damn good job at it. That was his limit, so what else could he do? He didn’t consider himself a master at sex or anything, and he’d never taken up any other hobby like acting. singing, or dancing. Besides, things felt awkward since Corin did that (and who was to say he even really wanted to have sex with him?). It felt like his boss constantly avoided him every chance he got, and well, Soundman felt a little hurt.

He was standing outside Corin's office door now, trying to decide whether to go in or not. There were many things telling him not to. Grace Rule, for instance. She might be there. What would he tell her if he ran across her? He didn't have a fleshed out plan. He’d end up embarrassing himself. Then there was the actually facing Corin part of it. Soundman was never good with words. Sure, his non-working vocals were one part of it, but it was also the fact that he was a an anti-social mess. He hardly ever left the confines of his house or his sound room. He didn’t have any close friends to go out with. He avoided people as much as possible. But past this, lurking inside him was the overwhelming want for intimacy. To hold hands, to sleep next to someone. Hell, even to sit in the presence of company he liked was something he desired so much, the mere thought of it felt exhilarating. He liked the comfort of being alone, but he hated loneliness. It was a vicious cycle.

The words Corin spoke to him swam through his head _. "I. Fucking. Want. You_." Were his words raw, true to their word? Or was it just drugs talking? Was Corin avoiding him out of embarrassment or reputation? As anxiety flooded his head with these thoughts, there was a familiar clicking sound coming from the not far off distance behind him. His brain kept trying to help him remember what it was and- Oh-dear-god-that’s-Grace-Rule. Thinking fast, Soundman swung the door to Corin’s office open, making sure it didn’t make a sound when he shut it and promptly locked it. He took a big breath, and held his hand over his mouth and nose when her silhouette appeared over the frosted glass of Corin’s door. He couldn’t risk being caught like this.

The handle jiggled. And jiggled. And jiggled.

And stopped.

He only let his breath out once he no longer heard that mocking _click_ , _click_ , _click_ and was surprised at what he came in contact with when he really looked at the place. It was more of a living room than an office. Much more luxurious than what he called a workplace, but he supposed that that was how social classes worked, wasn't it? There was also no Corin in sight, which was a plus, but also somewhat disappointing to the sound engineer.

Then there was a noise. He’d never been in Corin’s office let alone this far back, and he wondered exactly how sneaky he was being, considering Helena killed every mouse in sight. When he quietly opened the door he heard movement come from, Corin's back came into view, his desk facing the opposite wall. Well, the CEO appeared calm and collected. Maybe now he could talk to him _. Just knock_ , he told himself.

Before he could do so, Corin pushed his rolling chair back, standing up. Soundman instinctively brought the door closer to himself, as if to hide his body, but he did not shut the door all the way. Instead, he watched as Corin continuously brought his fists into the table, a seething rage enveloping him. Then, he shoved everything off his desk to the right. Each item, including an expensive looking computer as well as a picture of Corin Deeth I crashed into the floor.

Soundman paid attention to every move his boss made. Right down to the way those strong yet gentle hands were clenched in fury at his sides. Despite the aggressive demeanor, Soundman thought they might as well have been made of velvet with how soft they looked. He thought they’d look particularly good trailing down his body, too. He swallowed. Soundman only ever indulged in thinking of those kinds of luxuries in the safety of his home, and sometimes the tight comfort of his sound room. How entertaining and quick those sessions were.

Now, he watched Corin sit back down, completely lax in his seat. One hand reached down, and even thought Soundman could not fully see what the CEO was doing, the soft sounds he made told him enough. He felt himself breathe in a little faster. It wasn’t anything too raunchy, still over the slacks, but Soundman began to feel himself get antsy. A strong part of him that couldn’t help but wonder if his boss was thinking about him. Was that velvet hand pleasuring himself to the thought of pushing Soundman up a wall? Of leaving dark marks on his neck and even further down? He felt his shy demeanor slipping with every second.

Corin would’ve gotten his entire dick out if he hadn’t spun around in his spinny chair, coming face to face with Soundman, who, now wide eyed with fear and embarrassment, was peeking out behind the tinted frosted glass of his back room office. Or as Corin had once called it his “special room”. Soundman had quite the guess as to what “special” meant now. He told himself Corin must be caught doing things like this all the time, despite the bright pink color that spread across Corin’s face. Oddly enough, Soundman thought it looked wonderful on him. Flustered, Corin poised himself back to his "fully business" manner. Even slicked back some strands of long black hair. In a minute he had completely eradicated the idea that he was ever going to touch himself to obscure fantasies. Soundman admired that in a Soundman kind of way.

“S-Soundman! I.... didn’t expect you to be here. How long have you been standing there?” Corin took a millisecond to pause, purposefully not giving Soundman enough time to answer. It definitely had to have been long enough. Unknown to Soundman, Corin was thanking whatever Evil that was watching over him for not letting Soundman show up not a minute before he did. There were some... things Corin didn’t want the other to know about. Soundman stared at him without pity, though there was a little embarrassment. He shook his head. He didn't care about the embarrassment. He was there for answers.

“I suppose you’re here for answers, aren’t you?” Corin stared back at Soundman. Neither of them were wearing sunglasses and seeing Corin’s honey eyes made Soundman feel like he was astral projecting. It was like they were both on the same wavelength. They both weren’t sure whether that was good or bad. Soundman breathed in through his nose, and slowly let it out of his mouth.

“Soundman, I’m not sure that everything I’m about to say is completely dignified. I don’t think it’s what you want to hear, but it’s what I need to say.” Corin decided that sitting on top of his desk looked cooler, and gave him a small opening to think of _what_ he needed to say exactly.

“I know you know I’ve been avoiding you these past couple of days. It wasn’t because of my high reputation, nor because I hate you. I was intoxicated, Soundman. On something that was new and absolutely fucking _amazing._ It was embarrassing though," Corin told him, trying his best to act like an adult and not completely flip his shit over some incident that meant nothing. He wasn't lying to Soundman anyway. There wasn't actually anything in his words. When you're high you do stupid shit, he told himself. But then, why did he shove everything off his desk?

Soundman felt more hurt than when he went in there. So, there wasn't any feelings. That was cool. Cool cool cool. He didn't know what he expected. He raised the expectations too high on this one. Ouch.

A familiar clicking sound began to emanate from behind them. Corin’s face paled.

The next thing Soundman knew Corin was next to him, locking the door and dragging him behind and under his luxury desk. They both sat there holding their breaths, not caring how Grace Rule had gotten into the main part of his office despite that door being locked, just listening intently to the door handle being jiggled. And jiggled. And jiggled.

And stopped.

Corin looked at Soundman, the both of them letting out their breaths at the same time once the clicking had went away. They were so _awfully_ close. Corin still had something on his mind.

“You saw nothing when you came in here, understood?”

Soundman could do nothing but nod.


	2. Hear No Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soundman catches Corin in another embarrassing act.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I quite liked how I originally wrote this, so I just changed some minute things from the original. hope you enjoy! I still need to actually write chapter three so let's see how this goes.

It was another day at Kakos Industries, and Soundman Steven was cleaning oozing black tar off of his sound board. It was the third of two tragedies he had faced that morning. The first being that he woke up too late (it was _five_ whole minutes _after_ his alarm), the other was spilling his caramel macchiatto all over his car floorboards, and now it was _this._ It was odd, really. It felt like someone was sabotaging him. He knew no one dared to enter the company this early in the morning and surely if there had been some sort of compromise Helena would’ve notified Corin or Grace or......Corin. Of course, Helena wasn’t the most reliable AI security system, but wasn't black tar some sort of exception? If this was someone’s own doing to sabotage the announcements' soothing and Evil-producing waves of music, the question rang: _Who_ would do something like this?

She was the first person to come to Soundman’s mind, but this was definitely no concoction of Kiarawa’s. An attack on Soundman of all people be would be strange, and she was nowhere to be found after that last _incident_ that occurred between her and Corin. Why would she want to do something like this anyway? Soundman was pretty sure he wasn’t anywhere on her immediate bad side. Actually, he thought, he was pretty sure he wasn't on _anyone's_ immediate bad side. Besides, this heaping goop didn’t feel as Evil as hers did anyway. It didn’t give off that far off lost feeling of misery, despair and death, nor did it burn through any of his equipment. Kiarawa’s tar was extremely acidic and the company had paid for it dearly when she was a child. Personally, Soundman thought she just liked to watch the destruction.

Perhaps this could’ve been something of Brosephus’ doing? Brosephus hadn’t been doing much since he talked to Corin last. His self-esteem as not only a therapist, but also a person had plummeted drastically. As a result, a lot of other people’s self-esteem also plummeted drastically. This caused production rates to drop, and therefore produced a very stressed and angry CEO. Brosephus hadn’t been able to land himself a solved problem in quite sometime, and Soundman could see no reason why he wouldn’t want to do this. Hurting Soundman could help Brosephus’s reputation get back on track, and as a result Soundman could feel better. It was Evil, but there were mutual benefits, so was it really that bad? Too bad Brosephus hadn’t been checked in that morning. Or at least, to Soundman’s knowledge.

There was always Dr. Dunklewissen, with all of his scientific experiments. A scheme tending to linger under the man’s nose. Everyone in Kakos Industries knew it wasn’t against him to experiment on the CEO himself. He’d been caught doing it several times, but everyone was too afraid to rebel against the lunatic. It would make sense for Dunklewissen to attack Soundman just to see if it crawled under Corin’s skin, but Soundman couldn’t see that happening. It could just be the Evil Scientist being an Evil Scientist though. That would make more sense than most of his other options.

Soundman grunted at what he would call “half-assed” work, watching a fair amount of the black tar roll into the trash bag (thank Evil). Hopefully, Corin would only be a tad angry at the leftover mess. Or maybe if he was able to clean everything up before Corin got here he would never have to know that someone had sabotaged everything and he would be seen as the happy go lucky employee that _totally_ didn’t have these sort of things happen to him often.

Soundman took a deep breath through his nose, and slowly let it out of his mouth.

He hadn’t thought much about those days he had had with Corin. No matter what his diary said otherwise. Instead, he spent most of his days after that more work-based, and tried (key word) his best to not think about Corin. He heaved the trash bag over his shoulder, and walked to the garbage shoot at the end of the hall. The door of the shoot was rusted and when you pulled it open strands of sticky _something_ connected it to the wall. Soundman felt disgusted and at home all the same.

From the opposite end of the hallway, 10 minutes before the announcements, Corin saw Soundman putting the trash bag in the shoot. He raised a brow and crossed his arms. What was his favorite employee doing anything but sound related work? It was so terrifyingly rare for Corin to see Soundman doing such a thing that he was getting worried. When they caught eyes they both practically jumped from surprise. 

From not so far away, Brosephus watched the two of them.

Corin frowned as he watched Soundman walk by him with a perfect smile. The CEO could tell it was a nervous one. There was always a twitch in the right corner of his mouth.

“Soundman. What happened?" Corin asked. He thought that maybe there had been a body in the bag, and was going to tell him the garbage shoot was a rookie move, but noticed the sound engineer was acting much too nervous for it to have anything to do with bodies. There had to be something more important to him than that. Something that was split in half with a piece of luxurious glass, one side covered in sound absorbing foam and the other side with a beautiful array of buttons and one comfy chair that only fit one man's ass in the entire fucking company. The sound room.

Soundman shook his head, playing dumb. He was standing in front of the door to his sound room trying not to look unbelievable. Corin rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. Who did Soundman take him for?

“So, you won’t mind if I just step into your sound room, to make sure everything is in order?” Corin asked, reaching for the door handle that was next to Soundman’s arm.

Soundman pointed at Corin, then to himself, signed "doubt", and raised a brow. The right corner of his mouth twitched.

“No, of course I don’t doubt you, Soundman. Though I should probably let you know you have a tell. I highly recommend you work on that.”

Soundman frowned, feeling his face for something that might be out of place, but came up with nothing. Corin pushed open the door. In less than the amount of time Soundman thought it took to even open the door, Corin had let out a high pitched shriek. Soundman cringed at the sound.

"What. the. _hell_. happened." Corin looked absolutely furious. He had no one to pin the blame on, and he was giving Soundman more than a death stare behind his sunglasses. Though it was pointless because Soundman couldn't see behind them.

Soundman pointed at himself and shook his head. It wasn't him.

“So, what?" Corin said flatly, "you just magically found it like this when you got here?” 

There was disbelief written all over his boss's face, but Soundman nodded vigorously. He always thought it was amazing how accurately the CEO could predict what he was saying with so little information. Corin just thought it was human decency.

“Well, then,” Corin began, before letting his face turn a bright shade of red and leaving for the next five minutes. Soundman couldn’t tell if he was angry or frustrated or about to quit his job altogether, but a part of him said that it was some mix of all three. Those were the last words they exchanged before the announcements.

_Now shareholders, you may be wondering why the amazing music for this broadcast sounds a little...._ **_off_ ** _this time around. I assure you, there is a perfect explanation. A perfectly nasty, vile, and_ **_revolting_ ** _explanation. In all my days of working here, this has to be one of the_ **_most grotesque_ ** _things I could have_ **_ever_ ** _stumbled upon._

_It all started when I found Soundman Steven throwing a huge trash bag into our rather questionable garbage shoot. Now, as we all know, Soundman doesn’t do this tedious kind of job, though being tedious doesn’t make them any less important, and I found it rather strange, so I took it upon myself to find the root of the problem. And, dear god. It was absolutely_ **_disgusting_ ** _._

_When I opened the door to Soundman’s sound room, there were bits of oozing black tar on_ ** _everything_** _. I mean_ **_everything._** _Thank Evil Soundman had been able to get most of it off, but, my dear shareholders, the damage is done. Who knows how long that black ooze will be stuck in the buttons of his sound board. I’m looking at Soundman right now, and he is devastated. He can no longer produce that amazing sound like before. It makes me nauseous just thinking about it._

_We haven’t been able to trace the tar back to any culprit, but I assure you once we find them, we will make them more than suffer. More. than. suffer._

_I've also found a CD on my desk that says "Listen to after the announcements." I'm not sure whether to follow this or not. I'm not usually one to take orders from people I don't know. After all, I don't know this person's intentions, nor what is on the CD. It could be anything. It could be white static, it could be someone's raunchy sex tape, it could be fucking bees buzzing around and around endlessly into a meaningless abyss. (He pauses) I. I think I'm going to listen to it after the announcements. I guess we'll just see what happens by the time you tune in next time. At this fucking rate in the company, I've lost all hope. It really is liberating, shareholders. It's like taking not giving a fuck about anything and multiplying the feeling by 100. Now, back to talking about my favorite division. The Divison of Incredibly Boring Things? I found a rather not-interesting dissertation on my desk right now. It's entitled...._

Corin made his usual rounds. There was taking credit for things, there was the numbers, and then there was the end. He had covered the glass window like always. This left Soundman his own space with no one to look in at him on the other side. Mostly, he liked to think that that was there because he was only for Corin's eyes, though Soundman never really paid attention to what his boss did after the announcements. He sat at his soundboard, staring at all the damaged buttons. The chair made a squished plastic sound when he plopped into it and he realized there was black tar stuck in it too.

Soundman took a deep breath through his nose, and slowly let it out of his mouth.

He really didn’t want to be here; it reminded him of his and Corin's little incident. But then again, so did everything. He worked for the man, of fucking course everything is going to remind him of him. He literally just saw him like five minutes ago. What did he expect? Soundman began to tap his fingers on the edge of his sound board, careful to miss any black tar. He still wasn't sure how safe that stuff was. 

In the other side of the sound room, Corin put in the CD.

Stupid feelings. Soundman saw his reflection, and felt like he realized Corin’s embarrassment. There was no way he was _just_ embarrassed from being intoxicated. Corin was trying new things all the time. No, Soundman felt like Corin was embarrassed because he didn't to be seen or with _him_. He frowned at the unruly mop he called hair, and the Chipotle stain from the shirt he’d been wearing for the past four days. Why would Corin lie to him though? Soundman trusted his superior. His fingers tapped louder. It had to be nerves. Yeah, nerves.

Sound rang out of the speakers in Corin's side of the room. Corin stood on his desk.

What was Soundman supposed to be doing exactly? He was pretty sure that going home was the most obvious option, but he felt like something was missing. He felt like he hadn't completed his day at all. Something was missing. Something was missing. Something was missing. What was it? What else could there possibly be? He did the same fucking thing every day, with a few exceptions. Was there plans he forgot about? He decided it was the stress of all the bad luck that happened today. His fingers tapped louder.

Corin pulled his comb from his pocket.

Soundman turned his head slightly. Behind his incessant tapping, there was another sound. Though, this one was much prettier than the heel clicking of Grace Rule _and_ much less terrifying. He swore he could hear it coming from nearby. A constant banging he had been moving his fingers to. Soundman turned his head round and round to try and get a good ear from where it was coming from, but no matter where he turned it seemed to be coming from everywhere. He furrowed his brow and looked at the sheet that covered the glass, watching the way it beat with sound. There was music coming from somewhere. There was music coming from the _other side of the sound room_.

Surely it was up to Soundman to discover what this amazing sound was, right? It sure was _loud_.... Yeah Soundman decided, he was going to check out the sound. He wasn’t going in there to try and see Corin, to try and get a glimpse of those brown eyes, nor to try to see that handsome face up close. No sir-ee. He was going in there for himself and only that. _Only_ that.

Corin was shaking his hips in _quite_ a manner now.

When Soundman was standing outside of the other door, which took literally no time at all, he tried to be civil, he really did, but when he heard what that pretty sound was, he couldn’t help but swing open the door. Two large speakers were shaking against the glass, tempting the white sheet that hung there to fall off. Soundman wondered, would it have been worse finding Corin dancing and singing popular ABBA songs into his iconic black comb like this, or from the sheet falling off by accident? Walking in on Corin singing about the dancing queen felt so forbidden that Soundman couldn't help but place a hand over his mouth. Corin caught glimpse of him, and his singing immediately ceased.

"Helana turn this shit the fuck off!" Corin screamed over the sound. This was his private time _after_ the announcements and there was Steven _gawking_ at him. He felt exposed in every sense of the word. The music came to an abrupt stop.

“Soundman!" The other reeled back at the loud use of his name, "I had the door locked. How did you even get in here?”

Soundman shook his head, indicating that the door was not, in fact, locked. Corin stared in disbelief.

“Is that you shape shifting, Grace? Are you trying to do this to me again? I have to say it’s _extremely_ convincing.”

Soundman furrowed his brow.

“You know, _Grace_. Trying to make me...” Corin trailed off, letting the comb fall to his side. _Trying to make me confess my feelings._ In a part of Corin's mind, it clicked that maybe it was only so convincing because it _really_ _was_ Soundman. He had to think of something fast. A lie. A half-truth.

Soundman waited.

“Trying to make me run a business properly by role playing as employees and making sure I react with the proper conduct? You know the works. What brings you here, _Soundman_?”

Soundman signed “singing”, nervously. The way Corin frowned did not help this. This was the second time he had caught his boss in an embarrassing act, and we all know in Corin’s book being caught singing is worse than the sex. He watched Corin swallow, and look at the ground. It was hard to tell what he was feeling through those endlessly black sunglasses. How Soundman longed to see him with them off again. It made his ever-lasting erection a miniscule tighter thinking about them in rather promiscuous ways. He thought Corin maybe saw it, but then the right corner of his mouth twitched. Wow Soundman, he thought, really not the time.

Corin crossed his arms. He could control this kind of embarrassment _perfectly_.

“I’m sorry? I’m not sure I know what singing you’re referring to. The only thing I know you heard, _Steven_ ,” Soundman melted at the first name basis; he noticed Corin only ever did that when they were in private, “was a whole lot of nothing. A whole lot of _nothing_ , Steven. And just so you know, if I hear anyone else talking about this little “nothing”, I’m going to personally have both of your eyebrows shaved off. It’s not that harsh, but I can guarantee it _is_ Evil. Also, I don’t like harming my favorite employee. So maybe leave your boss to some private time, and get some extra productivity into your work day, yeah, Steven?”

Steven felt his heart pounding in his chest. Way to go, bud. You pissed off the one person you shouldn’t have on your bad side. Haha, wow. Wowie. Cool. Cool Cool Cool. And that punishment. Having no eyebrows? That made it hard to express when you also had no voice. How would he be able to say anything? Drat. Corin really knew how to be Evil in subtle ways. It took everything out of Soundman to slightly bow his head down to Corin as a farewell and turn around to head to the door.

Corin thought it was pitiful watching his inferior like that. It wasn’t his fault Corin couldn’t help his ABBA obsession.

“And Soundman?” Corin asked, watching the other halt in his tracks and turn around, brows raised questioningly.

“Did it sound good?”

Soundman gave him the "OK" hand sign, and made a click sound with his mouth. Corin uncrossed his arms as he watched Soundman leave all potential lingering in the confines of his side of the sound room. _Idiot_ , he thought, taking off his sunglasses. What a fucking idiot he was.

In the not so far distance, Brosephus grinned. The length of his nails had a very familiar black substance under them. Like alcohol, he thought, a problem was slowly turning into a solution. 


	3. Speak No Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soundman and Corin get stuck in an elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished it.

Brosephus entered the elevator. Soundman watched him. It had been quite sometime since the either of them had had any sort of interaction. Steven had to admit, the "therapist" was quite handsome. He stood behind Brosephus, who was trying his best to keep the elevator buttons hidden from view. Although soundman thought this kind of strange, he said nothing. Maybe he just pressed the wrong button the first time and was trying not to look dumb. Well, Soundman wouldn't look. His mother raised him right.

Then, as quickly as he entered, Brosephus left the elevator.

Unbeknownst to Soundman, there was now something wrong with the elevator.

Unfortunately, Soundman's stop was on the first floor. Several people came in and out of the elevator post Brosephus, but nothing unusual happened. Then, at the 18th floor, Corin walked in. No one else was in there but the two of them. It appeared as though he were as surprised to see Soundman there as he was to see Corin. The CEO said nothing, just pressed the button for the 12th floor. Steven tried to avoid looking at the executive, he really did, but that isn't to say he didn’t get a few glances in anyway.

What could he possibly be thinking?

18, 17, 16, 15…

The elevator stopped abruptly, jerking the two of them off balance. The screen that showed which floors they were passing shut off, and in turn, the emergency lights came on. Corin did not like this. In fact, he visibly started bouncing one of his legs.

"Helena?" Corin pressed the "HELENA" button installed into the elevator, "Get us out of here." Horrifying silence ensued. "Helena, do you hear me? Get us out of here." Nothing. He tried once more, "Helena, you crazy artificial bitch, if you don't fix this and let us out I'll take you apart in so many ways you won't know up from down when I'm finished with you!"

No answer. Corin was now frantically pressing the "HELENA" button. No such luck. Of course, Corin didn't believe in luck, but he probably didn't believe in a universe where some non-binary person writes fanfiction about him, either.

"Someone's put her offline. This is entirely orchestrated." He glared at his employee, who put up his hands in defense.

"We need to get out of here, Steven. I don't know if you know this, but being enclosed in small spaces is not my idea of a good time. Let me use you as a stool so I can open the upper elevator hatch."

Soundman promptly got into table top, grimacing as his boss stepped on him. Corin reached overhead, undid the latch and pushed. No budge. He tried again, harder this time. No budge. He stepped off of Soundman.

Corin's voice then went from a low growl, to a roaring "Fuck!"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!" In a fit of rage he slammed his fist into the elevator buttons and then slumped against the wall opposite Steven, who was now sitting criss-cross on the floor, looking rather comfortable.

"Aren't you taking this well," Corin sneered. "For all I know this is your doing."

Soundman frowned, signing the word loyal to Corin.

"Yes, that's what you'd want me to think, wouldn't you?"

Soundman pointed to himself and signed stuck.

"I know you're stuck too Soundman," He let out a heavy sigh and leaned his head back against the wall. "I'm sorry for accusing you of such treachery. Grace has had me under a lot of pressure and those spies Melantha keeps sending me has me-"

But Soundman said sorry wasn't good enough.

"E-Excuse me?" Corin had never seen Soundman talk like this, and he raised a brow behind his shades.

It was at this point Soundman went into a frenzy. He began signing so fast that Corin had trouble keeping up. At some point Steven even began looking like he was going to cry, but he remained amazingly composed, especially with how violent his gestures were getting. Was Soundman capable of being violent? Corin's eyes dashed as he followed Soundman's movements. Something about how Corin was a liar, that he wasn't embarrassed because he was on drugs, but because of something else and he knew. Oh Evil he knew. Soundman kept going, but Corin had lost the plot a while ago.

"Soundman, I'm going to have to stop you there," Corin reached out, taking hold of Soundman's hands to still them. Steven flinched, but didn't attempt to move away, so Corin assumed it was okay. He scooted himself closer to Soundman, mirroring his seating position. After, he took off his shades, and wiped them. Then he put them in his pocket.

Soundman would always remember what happened next. Corin rubbed his hands against his face in some attempt to remove his nervousness and screamed in frustration, as if his hands were a pillow.

"I…er…" Corin's hands were off his face, but had moved to wringing themselves together. His eyes were glancing everywhere but Soundman's face. Steven had to admit, it was kinda refreshing to see his peer like this.

"I love you, Steven," the CEO looked at Soundman now, whose brows were pulled in a way that said he was listening intently. This would not be the first time Corin said something he didn't mean.

"No, not in an "I'm on drugs" way.. And not in a favorite employee way. Not even in a just bros way. I, I love you, man. I don't know what else to tell you. This is probably being recorded and will most likely be used as blackmail against me later, but, I don't give a fuck. I should have told you a long time ago." When Soundman said nothing, he continued.

"It's just. Things at the company are crazy. You know that. I'm constantly targeted. Both by assassins and by the board. And there are so many rules about the CEO being in a proper relationship that it makes my head spin. Grace has had her suspicions for quite sometime, and I wouldn't put it past her for being the one behind this. Well, I don't care! You hear that, Grace? I don’t care!" Corin shook his fist at what Soundman assumed Corin considered to be some unseen entity or camera in the elevator. Of course, this was only speculation. He hoped.

The sound engineer was frighteningly quiet until, finally, Did you mean what you said to me that day?

"What did I say exactly?"

Do you  want me?

Corin instantly flushed, took a deep breath in, and then answered with a short, punctual, "Yes."

"Yes, I do want you."

Then he took a leap of faith.

Then I guess I'll just have to hold you to your word.

Corin was at first, taken aback by the kiss Soundman gave him, until he himself let go. It was more of a long held smorch than something hot and heavy, and though neither would say, they liked it better that way.

That was when the elevator started moving again.

The two of them shuffled away from the other. Corin put back on his sunglasses, and pulled Soundman up.

"You're not gonna tell anyone about this are you?" Corin inquired, his face monotonous as ever.

Soundman shook his head.

In some distant part of the company, Brosephus was unusually happy that day.


End file.
